X Factor: Lucy Spraggan's hidden #BeerFear music video

After seeing Lucy Spraggan wow the X Factor judges and audience with her original song "Last Night" (aka #BeerFear) at the live auctions...



I hit the net in search of more of the Sheffield singer's Kate Nash/Jamie T style.  From her website there were the obligatory links to her Facebook & Twitter, along with one to a Soundcloud account showcasing 11 songs. All standard practice for aspiring musical talent in the digital age, as is the presence of an independently produced album available via iTunes & Amazon. In fact everything on display paints a picture of a talented motivated musician, working hard to earn her big break.

Except for one thing... her YouTube page. While it does exist, with 355 subscribers this morning, there are no videos on it. That's unheard of these days for a gigging singer being as it's one of the best ways to build a fan base outside your local area.

 Luckily I noticed that while there no videos on her channel there were some on her website, one of which was this slickly produced visual accompaniment to her X Factor audition track.



Why such a well made video would be hidden away from the thousands of prospective new fans is something of a mystery. Is it Lucy's decision or some restriction imposed by X Factor?

While we wait to find out, here's another video from her website in which she collaborates with J-Mac.

You know when you're so bored at the airport that you just burst into dance?

No?

It must just be YouTube favourite takeSomeCrime then.

With their '5 people on 1 guitar' cover of Gotye nearing 133 million views on YouTube, what's next for WOTE?

Creators of one of the most viral videos of all time Walk Off The Earth's cover of "Somebody that I used to know" probably helped Gotye far more than themselves

If you have somehow failed to see it yet you can click the picture to watch the video.

Here they team up with Julia Nunes, who returned with a new video earlier this week, to cover "Some Nights by Fun, who released their video for the track last week.

From the peole that brought you "Scott Pilgrim vs. The Bread" comes... "BEN"

YouTubists Nanalew & Meekakitty (a.k.a. Nanakitty) makers of cool stuff (like Star Wars Potatoes, Scott Pilgrim parodies or unofficial music videos), have finished their latest project, the trailer for "BEN"

They've also included a nifty behind the scenes making of video.

If you insist on objectifying female athletes, at least learn how sports bras work

While most of the attention given to the male Olympic athletes is focused on their athletic performance, when it comes to female athletes a large portion of the media is concerned solely with their appearance.

No stranger to the problems of being a woman in environment where females are routinely seen as mere sex objects for the pleasure of males, YouTuber Jenna Marbles takes this opportunity to educate those who seem to have no idea of the effect sports bras or swimsuits have on the female physique.

"Are they flattening their boobs or are they just flat chested? You have no idea what that person actually looks like"

NSFW language

Rise of the Let's Play: YouTubers playing video games for other people's enjoyment

The idea that people would find it entertaining to watch someone else playing a computer game (instead of just playing it themselves) might seem strange, but YouTube Let's Plays are amongst the most popular video series' online, with the biggest channels generating advertising revenues large enough for their creators to make it their full time job.

With just under 4,000 subscribers, AssyrianAssass1n's channel might not be the biggest but that doesn't stop him making great content.

The first episode of his new Game Over series, sees him play classic games until he either beats them or reaches the Game Over screen, starting with the original Super Mario Bros. on the NES.

That transhumanist, post-apocalyptic web series you've been waiting for is finally here

In the near future iPhones have been supplanted by implants which communicate directly with the human brain. Sounds cool right? But what if they were used against us?

Treasure Island is real?!

As a fully internet certified pirate captain, I was really excited to see this report from SourceFed show up in my YouTube subscription box.

The idea that there could be over $250 million in pirate treasure hidden on the Cocos Island, is enough to make me want to strap on my peg leg, grab my bucket 'n' spade and set sail in my dinghy at once!

First it was Google Maps, now Apple have dropped YouTube from their iOS app lineup

The latest act in the ongoing fight between the tech superpowers of Apple and Google, has been the release of the latest test version of it's iPhone & iPad operating system (iOS 6 Beta 4) without the YouTube app. A feature which had been standard on all iOS devices since the first iPhone was released in 2007.

Looking for an afternoon snack? I got you covered

I should really learn not to watch EpicMealTime videos when there's no food in the house.

What do Californians think about strip clubs?

YouTuber Kassem G finds out.

Why the hell is this in my YouTube feed? [NSFW]

So I'm on Youtube and I suddenly see this video at the top of my "Recommended" list:



After watching it several times, analysing certain moments frame by frame, I started thinking about why YouTube decided to recommend this to me when I didn't recognise the band and it's not even a genre of music I listen to.

A quick Google of the band's name brought up a link to their Wikipedia page. A link marked purple, meaning I had visited it before... what!?

Scrolling through the info it finally dawned on me. They were featured in a video made by YouTube legend Freddie Wong.



So that's my explanation for why YouTube decided to show me boobs.

YouTube-ian Rhapsody: A compilation of YouTube's finest

Via: Viral Viral Videos

How did kids react to the news of Osama Bin Laden's death?

The 'Kids React' series of YouTube videos usually features a group of kids being shown popular YouTube videos. In this episode they were instead shown President Obama's recent address.

Philip DeFranco sums up what I feel about the death of Osama Bin Laden far better than I could

How My Mind Works - a quick peek behind the curtain of my blog

This is mainly an excuse to show you a string of videos that I thought were cool, under the pretext of explaining how I hop around on YouTube and make my seemingly random selections for posting on the blog.

First up is a video I saw while watching a livestream by zekkyou:



Apparently it's based on an American advert. After finding it I had a quick look at the other videos on the channel (MissAlissa15) with this being the first to catch my eye:



To me, that is a great, quirky YouTube video and a clear sign that this is a channel of quality. A fact supported by these further offerings:





Of course, having watched that last one I had to go compare it to the original:



Every time I hear this song I of course think of the masterpiece that is Grosse Pointe Blank and so went looking for a video of it to share with you. The trailer is terrible and full of spoilers so I figured this was a better example to use:



Finally, I couldn't resist sharing this epic interview fail featuring John Cusack:



Now you have an idea as to how I find these strange, weird and wonderful videos to share with you. Normally I would have only shared one or two of these but for every video that makes it to the blog, there arre three, four or even more that lead me there.

Listen up, Watsky has some words for you

YouTube superstar Philip DeFranco has launched a new project in which he highlights some of the amazing people that can be found on YouTube. The first installment happens to be an interview with George 'pale kid raps fast' Watsky, someone who I've covered several times on here.



Via: Philip DeFranco

BONUS: Here's a video of his I thought I had posted but was actually languishing in my drafts pile.

Song selection, the key to any successful roadtrip

YouTube stars Rhett & Link are currently on a road trip across America and as we all know, driving without music is hellish. Luckily the two have an extensive knowledge of appropriate songs and the angelic voices necessary to do them justice.



You can watch their adventure so far using the playlist below:

Should bands use other people's videos for their songs?

R.E.M. recently unveiled the video for their new single Every Day Is Yours To Win which is comprised of footage from the videos various YouTube users. I watched about half of it before getting bored and searching for this instead:



Not only is Feeder's 'Just a Day' so much better than Michael Stipe's dreary whining, the video is great to watch as well.

Need some first date advice?

Link has the answers.